Which meant, apparently none of them.
Lady Edith cut through a piece of meat pie and gave me a sideways reproving look. “It was an unfortunate event to happen on the first night of the new queen’s reign. A bad omen, I’m sure.” She suspected I was involved but hopefully wouldn’t interrogate me on the subject later.
Agnes was making her way through a bowl of candied plums. “I heard their marks were gone. Vanished from their necks.”
“How very puzzling.” I took a bite of my meat pie so I wouldn’t have to comment further.
“You must be wrong,” the elder Master Godfrey said. It was one of the rare times he’d joined the conversation. “A mark can’t be stolen like some unguarded jewelry. Several wizards have to combine powers in order to remove one.”
Madame Godfrey scanned the room surreptitiously. “There are enough wizards here to accomplish such a deed.”
Lord Percy bestowed a confident grin on us. “But then why would Mage Sciatheric and Mage Telarian kill one another?”
I stiffened, fork grasped awkwardly in my hand. I didn’t like the way Lord Percy asked the question, as though he already knew the answer.
When none of us replied, he added, “I have it from those who’ve spoken to the king’s advisers that one of the two mages performed a spell to take the other’s mark. A rogue spell, you understand, one that wasn’t tested properly. It rebounded and took both wizards’ marks. And thus, helpless and enraged, the two fought to the death.” He ended his explanation with a flourishing wave of his knife.
Agnes leaned so far over the table toward Lord Percy that she nearly draped her sleeves through a sauce bowl. “But which was the victim and which the aggressor?”
Lord Percy shrugged. “I dare say we shall never know.”
Agnes straightened and sighed. “How vexing.”
How wondrous. Alaric’s optimism had been verified. Since the two wizards were enemies, the king wasn’t even looking for others to blame, and better still, the remaining wizards didn’t suspect they were in danger.
Lady Edith dabbed a napkin against her lips. “When will the king choose new wizards to replace them?”
I hadn’t even considered this possibility, that I might have to overcome two additional wizards tonight.
Madame Godfrey gazed around at the other tables. “I’m sure every mage here would fancy one of those positions.”
“Yes,” Lord Percy agreed, “but the wizards on the council need to approve of the king’s choice. The new man’s loyalty must be unquestionable. Such appointments take time. I doubt he’ll announce replacements until the wedding feasting is over.”
I fervently hoped he was right, but by midday Lady Ainsworth, one of the wealthier nobles, was heard to complain to several people that the king had called her wizard, Mage Saxeus, to his council. She proudly bemoaned that although the king had compensated the family for their loss, finding another wizard worthy of their family would besovery difficult.
This meant I needed to know where Mage Saxeus slept tonight. I went to Gwenyth at once and instructed her to ask among the servants to see if she could ferret out the information. I’d have searched about the castle myself, but following the mid-day meal, the queen invited several young noblewomen to join her in her chambers, including me.
“It’s a great honor,” Lady Edith told me when a messenger came with the news. “It means she’s considering you for an attendant. She needs a few native ladies-in-waiting, you know, so she doesn’t appear to favor the ones she brought from Odeway. Makes her more of an Aeradoran.”
I very much doubted she’d choose me. Ladies-in-waiting were generally taken from the most elite noble families. Still, despite my slim chances of being selected, to decline an invitation to meet with the queen would be unthinkably rude, so I found myself reluctantly heading to the queen’s chambers.
I’d not givena lot of notice to the fineries of the Queen Marita’s receiving room when I’d glanced into it the first time. As I was ushered in with five other noblemen’s daughters, I spent more time admiring the high ceiling, the bright red and yellow tapestries that hung on the walls, and the ornately carved chairs surrounding the fireplace.
Queen Marita was ensconced in a chair with a little white dog in her lap. Princess Beatrice sat by her side, and two lady’s maids watched us with prim, expectant eyes.
Floris Somerton filed in alongside me, and we all sat in chairs forming a semi-circle around the queen. The other young women had been pleasant enough to me while we waited outside in the hallway. At least until Floris raked a disdainful gaze across my gown and said, “You really should have had something new made for the royal wedding. Didn’t you have adequate time to prepare? Was your invitation a very last-minute affair?”
There was no way to answer that question without making myself look either poor or undeserving, and yet it galled me to let the snub go unanswered. “Don’t you like it?” I asked sweetly. “I assure you it’s gotten compliments from gentlemen and wizards alike. But then, some of us need fewer adornments to garner notice.”
She sniffed and turned sharply to whisper things—undoubtedly about me—to the woman next to her. The entire group looked scandalized by my impertinence. Evidently, Floris wasn’t used to having her opinions challenged.
Once we were seated, a servant brought around wine in elaborately carved goblets, and the small talk began. Pleasant questions from Queen Marita. All very formal.
I wondered if the queen had already made her choice of lady’s maids and these meetings were only for show. She asked us, in her thick accent, “Where do your estates lie, and what are they like?”
This gave the other women in the party a chance to boast about the beauty of their lands and invite the queen to come for a visit any time she desired.
I answered in kind, even though I knew the suggestion of a royal visit would give Lady Edith fits of worry. We didn’t have the food or servants to provide for a royal entourage. So, after my invitation, I added, “Although I’m sure Your Majesty would find our estate quite lacking after being at Valistowe Castle. Everything here is so grand.”